Buddies
"Buddies" is the fifth episode of Miami Vice's second season. The episode premiered on November 1, 1985. Summary Crockett's old army buddy has a secret that could link him to a mob hit contract. Plot While off duty, Crockett meets his old Army buddy, Robbie Cann (James Remar) in a bar. Robbie tells Sonny he and his wife Julia just had a baby boy and asks Sonny to be the baby's godfather. Sonny agrees, then Robbie (who is a little drunk) begins dancing on a pool table. When a bar patron gets a little unruly with Robbie and pulls a gun out, Sonny pulls his to calm the situation down. They both leave, told not to come back. At the Shelbourne Hotel (owned by Johnny Cannata and Frank Doss) "Ample Annie" (Karla Tamburrelli) wife of "Noogie" Lamont, is breaking in a new barmaid, Dorothy Bain (Eszter Balint) who had to bring her baby son with her because she could not locate a babysitter. Annie offers to babysit so Dorothy can work. Before leaving, Dorothy covers up her bruises caused by her ex-husband and father of the baby, telling Annie that before she left him and moved to Miami she would kill anyone who tried to hurt her baby. Dorothy goes on shift, but accidentally spills drinks on the floor after a patron makes a pass at her, and is let go by the staff. Despondent, she takes her baby into the lobby and the comic Morty Price (Nathan Lane) who is working that night, invites Dorothy up to his room to "see what he can do for her", as he knows Cannata and Doss personally. It turns out to be a ruse, as Price takes the opportunity to attempt to rape Dorothy, but she manages to get away and pull a steak knife on Price, warning him to stay away; when he tries again, Dorothy stabs him with the knife, killing him. Before leaving, Dorothy puts a bunch of papers in the bag with her baby -- papers that turn out to be betting sheets Price had made with Doss. Crockett returns from his off time and joins Tubbs in the Price murder investigation. Vice is involved because of the questionable the ownership of the club. Trudy brings Annie in and she tells them Dorothy Bain was seen going off with Price just before the murder, and gives them Dorothy's address. Before Crockett and Tubbs arrive, two intruders bust into her room in masks demanding "papers." They are chased away by the Vice duo, but Dorothy flees before they can stop and question her. Back at OCB, Castillo reviews the history of Cannata and Doss, and learns they want to open a legitimate casino in the future when the laws are changed, but to do so they must stay clean of illegal gambling; they are both under investigation by the FBI and other government agencies for exactly that. Castillo assigns Switek and Zito for video survillence, Gina and Trudy to work at the hotel, and Crockett and Tubbs to track down Bain. Robbie goes to see Cannata (Tom Signorelli) and Doss (Frankie Valli) to pay off a loan he took out from them to open his own club. During the playback of Switek's video, they see Robbie at the club with Cannata and Doss, and wonder what he's doing there. Crockett and Tubbs go to see Robbie, confronting him with their information and asking what he knows about Doss' and Cannata's business. He denies knowledge of anything they're involved in, but acknowledges borrowing money from Cannata and Doss for his club. Crockett asks him to separate himself from them and to let the Vice cops know if hears anything about Bain. Tubbs presses Robbie further, until he demands Crockett get Tubbs out of his office. Tubbs is suspicious, believing that Robbie is hiding something and Crockett won't accept it due to their long friendship. While Crockett attends Robbie and Julia's son's baptism, Tubbs finds out that Robbie's real last name is Cannata, making him Johnny Cannata's son, having changed his name after high school. Sonny starts to storm out of OCB when Gina lets them know that Dorothy Bain's ex-husband is in town trying to find her. When he offers them some lip about their failure to find his wife, Crockett snaps and slams him up against the wall, asking him how he likes being slapped around, before Castillo calls Crockett into his office and orders him off the Bain case. Dorothy calls her father to take her son back to New Jersey, but he refuses, and she spends the night in a phone booth before being picked up by Annie. Sonny goes to see Robbie to ask why he lied about his true identity. Robbie talks about how being a Cannata is like having a scar on him, how he managed to get away from the family, something no one has done. He admits that Doss and Price had made some bets that were on the tally sheets that Dorothy took, but insists he knows nothing about Doss' or his father's business. Crockett doesn't believe him and is shocked that Robbie will stand by and let the girl die to keep his father clean. Robbie says that for the first time since his return from Vietnam he now feels like a man, having a wife, child, and a decent business, even if he needed a loan from his family to open it. Robbie then pulls out a gun and threatens suicide, shaken by Crockett's doubt. He reveals to Sonny he knows where the girl is, but is afraid that if he tells, Doss will kill him; Sonny threatens him with a conspiracy to murder charge if he doesn't tell. Crockett challenges him to be a man by doing the right thing and not allowing Dorothy to be killed by Doss' goons. After a pep talk by Sonny about their 'Nam days and about doing the right thing, Robbie agrees to go help Dorothy, but wants to call Julia first. Crockett allows him to do so, but Robbie escapes out a secret door and takes off with $1000 and a gun, intending to put Dorothy on a plane out of Miami. Crockett pursues but is stopped by traffic and debris in the roadway. He seeks out Annie and learns Dorothy is hiding at her place. As Robbie helps Dorothy pack, Doss' goons break in; Robbie attempts to fight them but is shot in the shoulder. Crockett busts in and kills the goons; Robbie returns the favor by calling out when a thug tries to shoot Crockett from behind. Robbie survives, saying he did the right thing, which Crockett reassures him he did. Cast *Don Johnson as Metro-Dade Detective James "Sonny" Crockett *Philip Michael Thomas as Metro-Dade Detective Ricardo "Rico" Tubbs *Saundra Santiago as Metro-Dade Detective Gina Calabrese *Michael Talbott as Metro-Dade Detective Stan Switek *John Diehl as Metro-Dade Detective Larry Zito *Olivia Brown as Metro-Dade Detective Trudy Joplin *Edward James Olmos as Metro-Dade Lieutenant Martin "Marty" Castillo Guest Stars *James Remar as Robbie Cann *Eszter Balint as Dorothy Bain *Karla Tamburrelli as Ample Annie *Tom Signorelli as Johnny Cannata *Nathan Lane as Morty Price *Frankie Valli as Frank Doss Co-Starring *Rafael Lima as Nello Notes * The haunting music played by Jan Hammer during Dorothy's plight (alone in the lobby, walking the streets alone) would be used again to great effect in the fourth season episode "Deliver Us From Evil", after Crockett feels he killed Hackman's wife (which he didn't). * The Catholic priest that conducted Robbie's son's baptism was a Miami priest, the Rev. Raul Angulo of St. Patrick's Catholic Church (now at Mother of Christ Catholic Church), though the scene was shot at St. Mary's Cathedral. * The Shelbourne Hotel is still in existence, now a luxury beach resort. * James Remar played the main villain in the 1982 Eddie Murphy film 48 Hrs., notable as it also featured fellow Miami Vice guest star Sonny Landham (from "Viking Bikers From Hell") and Miami Vice regular Olivia Brown. * After briefly disappearing in the previous episode, Larry Zito's beard reappears. This continuity error is probably because the studio changed the running order of the episodes when they broadcast them, and it happened several times during season 2. Production Notes *Filmed: August 8, 1985 - August 19, 1985 *Production Code: 60020 *Production Order: 27 Filming Locations *Hotel Shelborne, 1801 Collins Ave, Miami Beach (hotel exterior) *Carillon Hotel, 6801 Collins Ave, Miami Beach (Shelbourne Hotel interior) *Corsair Hotel, 101 Ocean Drive, Miami Beach (Crockett/Tubbs chase the intruders out of Dorothy's room) *The Sanctuary, 1745 James Avenue, Miami Beach (Exterior of Robbie Cann's club) *St. Mary's Cathedral, 7525 NW 2nd Avenue, Miami (Robbie's son baptism) *Motel Leonard, 54 Ocean Drive, Miami Beach (Dorothy takes baby out of the bag) *234 Ocean Drive, Miami Beach (Annie's Hamburger Stand) *27th Str/29th Str Collins Ave – Jackie Gleason Theater 1701 Collins Ave – Hank Meyer Bvd – 44th Str/Collins Ave – 26th Str/Indian Creek Dr (Car chase between Robbie and Crockett) Music *"Go For Soda" by Kim Mitchell (during opening) *"Sweet Soul Music" by Arthur Conley (during Robbie's pool table dance) *"Own The Night" by Chaka Khan (in club) *"No Guarantees" by The Nobodys (Robbie and Sonny car chase and final shootout with Doss' goons) Quotes *"Definitely not a funny way to die." -- Tubbs, then Crockett after he arrives on the scene of Morty Price's death *"I left that family for twelve years, and lived to tell about it!" -- Robbie Cann(ata) *"The only obligation you've got is to yourself, if you can look in the mirror and be proud of what you see, then you've fulfilled that obligation, if not, you're worth nothing to nobody, not to yourself, not to Julia, not to me, and certainly not to your son!" -- Crockett to Robbie Category:Miami Vice Season 2 Episodes